Inside CHIME: Survey Involving CHIME Finds Many IT Budgets Nudging Up

Inside CHIME - header

7.20.17
By Candace Stuart, Director of Communications & Public Relations, CHIME

SearchHealthIT released its 2017 Health IT Purchasing Intentions Survey in July. The survey, which is conducted in conjunction with CHIME, tracks trends in healthcare IT spending and use.

A total of 425 IT professionals responded to the survey, which ran between January and March 2017. Many respondents reported increases in their IT budgets for 2017 and plans to boost their investment in technologies that engage and involve patients. Cybersecurity remained an investment priority.

Key findings:

  • 41 percent of respondents reported that their budgets increased compared to 2016, with the majority seeing a bump up in funding of 1 to 5 percent. Another 6 percent had increases of 16 percent or more.
  • 21 percent reported no changes in their budgets compared to 2016.
  • More than half (53.3 percent) said that improving the quality of patient care was a key driver behind their healthcare IT changes. In 2016, 44.1 percent reported improving quality of care as the leading reason for changes.
  • 67.1 percent planned to invest in patient portals and 58 percent in telemedicine technologies.
  • 41 percent expected to purchase EHR systems or services in 2017, up from 33.7 percent in 2016.
  • 4 percent considered cybersecurity a top healthcare IT investment, a drop from 53.3 percent in 2016, although it should be noted that the survey took place before the global WannaCry attack in May.

“We don’t expect cybersecurity spending to fade away, as even one major attack in the future could force the entire industry to react,” wrote Scott Wallask, the editorial director for TechTarget’s Health IT Group. TechTarget publishes SearchHealthIT. “The WannaCry malware attack in May 2017 proved health IT pros must remain vigilant.”

He thanked CHIME and its members for their support with the survey, which is available here.

More Inside CHIME Volume 2, No. 15: